Powerful handshake stirs Muslim world

[OrangeSoul]

All I can say is, finally my other country does something right!

Powerful handshake stirs Muslim world

By Salman Masood International Herald Tribune

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005

ISLAMABAD The extraordinary encounter in Istanbul between Khurshid Kasuri, the Pakistani foreign minister, and his Israeli counterpart, Silvan Shalom, produced a handshake across two worlds that is likely to have a profound impact here and in other Muslim societies.

While covert contacts between Israel and Pakistan date back to the 1940s, the meeting Thursday in Istanbul was a stark illustration both of Israel's desire to open contacts with more Muslim countries and of Pakistan's strategy, under President Pervez Musharraf, of raising its global profile, above all with the United States.

Since abandoning the Taliban in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Musharraf has made several decisions unpopular with extremists but welcomed by more moderate, liberal voices in Pakistan that might otherwise be more critical of this military leader's grip on civilian power.

Fighting Afghan extremists, moving toward better relations with India and now forging open ties with Israel are all bold policies. Indeed, hard-line clerics immediately declared Friday a day of protest in Islamabad and vowed to welcome Kasuri with black flags upon his return. Hard-line lawmakers walked out of Parliament in protest at the meeting.

But Talat Masood, a retired general in Islamabad, said Musharraf's strategy might pay off if it results in better ties with the United States, the West in general, and India and China.

"It is brilliant in the sense that you are disarming the hostility of all the sources that are trying to malign you, " he said.

Pakistan has castigated and condemned Israel ever since its inception in 1947, and has lent unwavering and vociferous support to the Palestinian cause. So firmly rooted is the opposition to Israel that a Pakistani passport states that the holder can travel to any country in the world except Israel.

"We have pretended as if Israel does not exist," said Ikram Sehgal, a defense analyst and editor of Defense Journal.

In the post-Sept. 11 world, with its altered strategic alliances and redefined international relations, Pakistan and Israel have reasons to forge better ties.

"Pakistan has realized that it has to transform its antagonistic foreign policy to a functional relationship," said Masood. "It is concerned about the strategic relations of Israel and India and wants to countervail it."

In addition, Musharraf surely recognizes that it is impossible to become a strong ally of the United States without opening a channel to Israel. He had already sparked controversy - and in a sense set the stage for the Istanbul meeting - by agreeing to address the American Jewish Congress during his visit to America in September.

For its part, Israel hailed the meeting of the two foreign ministers as "historic and a huge breakthrough." Masood, the retired general, noted that Israel "recognizes Pakistan as an important Muslim country because of its close ties with Muslim countries, both conservative and moderate. Friendly relations with Pakistan can open channels as it can act as a bridge" - perhaps even to Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In many ways, Islamic Pakistan and Jewish Israel resemble each other - despite Pakistan's political and economic instability. Both countries are based on ideology, with religion as the foundation of their nationhood. Although Israel does not state this openly, both have nuclear weapons. Both are security-driven. Both grapple with threats from neighbors who are reluctant or unwilling to accept them.

For a society that officially does not acknowledge Israel's existence, Pakistan conducts a political discourse riddled with mention of Israel, far beyond the traditional loyalty to Arab Muslim states and routine protests about Israeli policies.

Conspiracy theories thrive on Israeli ingredients. Branding opponents "Israeli spies or agents of the Jews" remains a potent staple of politics.

For Islamic extremists, there is little or no benefit in improving ties with Israel - or with the United States.

"We talk about being allies of the United States, but it is strengthening its ties with India. What benefit can we get by befriending Israel?" asked Syed Munawar Hasan, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's most organized Islamic party. "A robber forcibly enters your house and after some time lets you sit on your own sofa in one corner. It is no reason to rejoice."

"Israel should completely withdraw from Palestine," he added. "Withdrawal from Gaza means nothing."

Many Pakistanis share the clerics' viewpoint. Decades of one mode of thinking, and even indoctrination, have imprinted an image on public consciousness that cannot be erased easily.

Israel, on the other hand, has been less inhibited in its desire to establish relations with Pakistan. Shimon Peres, the veteran Labor Party leader and now a deputy prime minister, told Jang, the most widely read Urdu newspaper, in January: "Israel and Pakistan should have direct, personal contact, publicly, without being ashamed of it."

Musharraf, who has trumpeted a theory of what he calls "enlightened moderation," appears to agree. He has long argued that shunning extremism will enable Muslims to press for meaningful approaches that would solve their grievances over Palestine and - closer to home - Kashmir.

"The most compelling reason to engage with the Jewish community is to arrest the diabolical trend of clash of civilizations that has gained momentum since 9/11," wrote Nasim Zehra, an Islamabad-based security analyst, in an op-ed column for The News, a leading Pakistani daily. "Pakistan is weighing in now, practically and intellectually, on the global scene as a crucial Muslim state."

Hasan Askari Rizvi, a defense analyst based in Lahore, noted a practical aspect - the difficulty in procuring weapons from the United States because of strong anti-Pakistan lobbying by Jewish leaders. "Any weapons sales to Pakistan meets the strongest opposition by those U.S leaders who are pro-Israel," he said. Sehgal, in Karachi, noted that Israel had cooperated with China in avionics and that Pakistan could also benefit.

Sehgal is among those who hailed Musharraf's plan to speak to the American Jewish Congress. "It is perhaps the most important landmark in our history," he said.

But Rizvi took a more cautious tone. Diplomatic ties are unlikely in the near future. Officials from the two sides "will keep on meeting at neutral venues," Rizvi said, but normalization will be a slow and gradual process.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/02/news/pakistan.php <--- read whole here

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Good. Every step towards peace, tolerance and understanding is important.

[Hupp]

nice work!